Two Names
"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel,"
which means, "God with us."
Matthew 1:23
I am struck by the line, "they shall name him." Compare it to verse 21 where the angel tells Joseph, "you are to name him." It must have been a great challenge to Joseph. It was the father's right to name the child and Joseph was not about to implicate himself by giving the name. Let the rightful father have the courage to step forward with a name! But, if the angel was right and this child had no earthly biological father, then it would make sense that Joseph name Him.
Jesus means "Jehovah saves," a name most common is given by Joseph in a most uncommon circumstance. Still, the prophet had predicted that the people would call Him by another name, quite uncommon. Emmanuel means "God is with us." What the prophet was saying was that when people really got to know this child, they would say, "God is with us!" And so the seer's words came to pass in such diverse people as Thomas who exclaimed, "My Lord and my God!" and in the Centurion at the cross who blurted out, "Surely this was the Son of God!"
I pray that you know Jesus is your Savior and that you place your faith in Him for salvation. That's why He came. Still, I also trust that as you come to truly know Him, you will also exclaim, "Surely, God is with us!"